Between Me & You - n.r.

Epilogue: Part 1

Hailee's POV

It's been 12 years since I've seen Nick. He went to jail and I never heard from him again. Life hasn't stopped though. It's a carousel that just keeps going. 

Now, I'm a surgeon at a hospital in a city 4 hours from where I used to live. I guess you could say, I followed the path my dad had laid out for me and here I am. 

It's been working pretty well for me. Nick was right when he said I would be a good doctor. 

This year has gone by really fast. I'm in charge of 4 new interns who are looking to be surgeons in this hospital. 

Teaching them is challenge, but if I can treat a gunshot wound on the street, I can teach a bunch of over-eager wannabes to start a central line. 

Today, me and my interns were getting ready to see a new patient.

"Good morning, Mr. Turner", I said as I walked into his hospital room, followed by my 4 excited companions. "My name is Dr. Martin and I will be treating you. These are my interns." I gestured to them and they stood with their heads held high, all trying their best to look confident. 

"Hi doctor", the patient said. His wife was seated in the chair next to the bed. She looked terrified to be here and I couldn't blame her. Hospitals aren't exactly the happiest places on earth.

"So Mr. Turner, I understand that you are having some problems with your short term memory", I said. 

"Yes he has", Mr. Turner's wife interrupted. "He's forgetting things all the time."

Mr. and Mrs. Turner were older. He was in his late 60s and she wasn't far behind. 

I consulted Mr. Turner's chart. "So, you were admitted this morning because you had a seizure", I said without looking up from my chart. 

"Yes, it was awful", Mrs. Turner said. 

I cast a glance at my interns who were standing there doing nothing. "Well are you writing this stuff down or are you expecting to diagnose on the spot? Take notes!", I said. 

They hastily pulled out their notepads and pens and started writing.

Exasperated, I turned back to my patient. "Okay Mr. Turner, I'd like to do some tests before we assume anything."

He nodded and I left the room, not even looking back to see if my interns were following me. 

+ + + + + + + + + +

"Okay, assignments", I said to my interns who were all standing in a cluster in front of me. "Evans and Ross, you both go to the ER and see who needs help. Olson, you run the basic tests for Mr. Turner and Barrett, you're with me. Remember everyone, don't page me unless your patient is dying."

They all set off to their assigned areas and I took Dr. Barrett, my most talented intern, with me to get Mr. Turner scanned.

"Well Dr. Barret, let's go get Mr. Turner an MRI."

We got Mr. Turner an MRI scan that showed what I was expecting. A blood clot in the brain.

Back in Mr. Turner's hospital room, I broke the news. "Mr. Turner, the MRI scan showed that you have a blood clot  which is causing a blockage of blood flow to your brain. It's affecting your frontal lobe which is responsible for your short term memory."

"Well, how do we proceed?", he asked as he squeezed his wife's hand. Mrs. Turner was on the verge of tears. This was something  noticed: the patient was always stronger than who was accompanying them. 

"Dr. Barrett, why don't you continue?", I said. She looked delighted and stepped forward to continue from where I left off. This group of interns were not my brightest but Emily Barrett impressed me. 

"Well Mr. Turner, we'll have to operate and remove the blood clot. It is a very common surgery and Dr. Martin is the best."

The pager on my hip buzzed and I saw that it was Dr. Evans, one of the interns I'd sent to the ER. 

"I have to answer this page. Dr. Barrett, I trust that you can finish up here?"

She nodded as she clutched the patient chart to her chest. 

"Oh and Dr. Barrett, I'll see you in surgery."

Her face lit up at the news of being on Mr. Turners surgery. For a surgical intern, getting assigned to a surgery was like finding a $100 bill in your pocket, a pleasant surprise full of opportunity. 

I quickly made my way to the ER, unsure of what I would find there. After all, I had told them not to page me unless there was an emergency.

"What happened?", I asked Dr. Evans when I got there.

"Well nothing really", he answered. 

"Don't tell me that, Evans. I told you very specifically not to page me unless your patient was dying. Is your patient dying?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing, don't make this mistake again Evans."

"Someone is asking for you, Dr. Martin."

"Who?"

"I don't know, some guy."

"Well where is he? Come on Evans, get to the point."

"He's in section 2", the young intern said, pointing to a bed that was hidden by a light blue curtain. 

"Does he need medical attention? Because if he doesn't, you're wasting my time", I said sternly.

"Yeah, he needs sutures."

"Okay fine, page Barrett and tell her to prep Mr. Turner for surgery. I probably won't be too long."  

He nodded and I made my way towards the curtain. I pulled it back and the familiar face I saw looking back at me startled me. 

"Hi Hailee", Nick Robinson said.

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Hey guys!

So this is part 1 of the epilogue. I split it up into parts so the first one could take more time to explain Hailee's new life as a doctor. She's pretty high up as she's in charge of interns and this chapter was just to explain. The next part should be up soon. Thanks for reading! Keep commenting :)

That_Epiphany